Mozhaysk


Mozhaysk is a town and the administrative center of Mozhaysky District in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located to the west of Moscow, on the historic road leading to Smolensk and then to Poland. Population:

History

First mentioned in 1231 as an appanage of Chernigov; A theory says Mozhaysk took its name from the Mozhay River, whose name could be of Baltic origin. Later Mozhaysk became an important stronghold of the Smolensk dynasty, in the 13th century ruled by Duke Theodore the Black. Muscovites seized Mozhaysk in 1303, but in the course of the following century had serious troubles defending it against Algirdas. A younger brother of the ruling Grand Duke of Moscow usually held the Principality of Mozhaysk - until the practice was dropped in 1493. In 1562 Denmark and Russia signed the Treaty of Mozhaysk there during the Livonian War of 1558–1583. In 1708 the administration of Peter the Great granted town status to Mozhaysk.
Mozhaysk played a role in defending the Western approaches to Moscow in the 19th and 20th centuries. During the French invasion of Russia in 1812 the Battle of Borodino took place from the town. In World War II the German Wehrmacht took Mozhaysk on October 16, 1941; the Soviet Red Army re-captured it on January 20, 1942.

Administrative and municipal status

Within the framework of administrative divisions, Mozhaysk serves as the administrative center of Mozhaysky District. As an administrative division, it is, together with twenty-one rural localities, incorporated within Mozhaysky District as the Town of Mozhaysk. As a municipal division, the Town of Mozhaysk is incorporated within Mozhaysky Municipal District as Mozhaysk Urban Settlement.

Architecture

The first stone cathedral was built in the kremlin in the early 14th century and named Nikolskiy Cathedral. It very much resembled the Dormition Cathedral in Zvenigorod. At that time the wooden statue of Saint Nicholas of Mozhaysk was carved by an unknown master and placed into the cathedral. Later the statue was moved to the Church Over-the-gates.
The first fortified Detinets existed in the Mozhaysk as early as in the 12th century. After the great fire of 1541 it was completely rebuilt by an order of Ivan the Terrible. Only in the early 17th century the stone fortress was constructed, replaced with the Kremlin made of bricks in 1624-1626.
The Cathedral of St. Nicholas in the Gothic Revival style, designed by Aleksei Bakarev, started in 1802, but the building was ransacked by the retreating French troops in 1812. Only in 1814 the cathedral was completed and consecrated. The church of St. Joachim and Anna preserves some parts from the early 15th century. Another important landmark is the Luzhetsky Monastery, founded in 1408 by St. Ferapont and rebuilt in brick in the 16th century. The monastery cathedral, erected during the reign of Vasily III, was formerly known for its frescoes, ascribed to Dionisius' circle.

Trivia

The fact that Mozhaysk was frequently the last major stop on the way to the capital, gave birth to the expression "to push beyond Mozhay", which literally means "push away further than Mozhaysk."

Twin towns and sister cities

Mozhaysk is twinned with: